In many countries older-generation mobile networks are being switched-off in favour of new generation networks. 5G enables the development of a digital ecosystem by connecting machines, objects, and devices with ultra-low latency and the potential to improve energy efficiency. This is the case for most European operators that plan to switch off 3G networks by December 2025 and for operators in the Asia-Pacific region. However, in some countries the path is less clear, mainly because 2G and 3G networks retain a significant presence. This is the case notably in lower-income countries, where both technologies remain an important means of communication. In these countries, the main obstacles to 5G deployment and adoption include the high infrastructure costs, device affordability, and regulatory barriers.
Since commercial deployment began in 2019, 5G coverage has increased to reach 40 per cent of the world population in 2023. Distribution, however, remains very uneven. While 89 per cent of the population in high-income countries is covered by a 5G network, coverage remains limited in low-income countries. Europe boasts the most extensive 5G coverage, with 68 per cent of the population covered, followed by the Americas region (59 per cent) and the Asia-Pacific region (42 per cent). Coverage reaches 12 per cent of the population in the Arab States region and less than 10 per cent in the CIS region (8 per cent) and Africa region (6 per cent).
Ninety per cent of the world population is covered by 4G, and where 5G is not available, this remains a very good alternative. However, 55 per cent of people without access to 4G live in low-income countries. Whereas 95 per cent of the population in high-income and middle-income countries is covered by 4G or above, the proportion drops to 39 per cent in low-income countries, where 3G remains the dominant technology, and often the only technology available to connect to the Internet.
Today, access to a mobile-broadband network is available to 95 per cent of the world population. Bridging the “coverage gap”, that is covering the remaining five per cent still out of reach of a mobile-broadband network, is proving difficult: since crossing the 90 per cent threshold in 2018, global 3G coverage has increased by only four percentage points. In the Africa region, the gap is shrinking but remains relatively high at 16 per cent, predominantly affecting the population of central and western Africa.
Mobile broadband remains out of reach for 18 per cent of the population in LDCs and LLDCs, which are falling short of target 9.c of Sustainable Development Goal 9: to “significantly increase access to information and communications technology and strive to provide universal and affordable access to the Internet in least developed countries by 2020.”
Disaggregating the data by location reveals that virtually all urban areas are within range of a mobile-broadband network (note that estimates of 5G coverage by location are not yet available). In addition, 98 per cent of the population living in rural areas of high-income economies are covered. This implies that almost every person without access to a mobile broadband network lives in a rural area of a developing country.